Meet Weston Twigg, He's Overweight Lam Research After Earnings

In a report published Thursday, Pacific Crest analyst Weston Twigg reiterated an Overweight rating and price target of $100 on <b>Lam Research Corporation</b> LRCX, on expectations that the company would continue to outperform.

Twigg’s Perspective

“We remain buyers of LRCX as it again proved it is benefiting more than peers from technology shifts. 3D NAND demand is improving in 2H, helping Lam disproportionately,” analyst Twigg explained.

The analyst also believes that Lam Research’s cash flow and operating discipline continue to be impressive, with the company announcing robust FQ4 results and FQ1 guidance despite the “mixed demand environment.”

The analyst expects the company to be able to generate revenue growth of 20 percent for the full year. However, some revenue decline could occur in the December quarter (FQ2).

According to the Pacific Crest report, “Lam has very high exposure to DRAM 20 nm conversions, and with DRAM capex expected to moderate somewhat in 2H, Lam could have been revenue-challenged.”

On the other hand, 3D NAND demand has been ramping, and all four producers are scheduled to increase capacity in 2H. The analyst believes that Lam Research’s 3D NAND revenue opportunity could be “at least 1.5x that of planar NAND, or even higher, given the company’s strong position.

“Lam is on pace to meaningfully outgrow the industry for the third year in a row since acquiring Novellus in 2012,” analyst Twigg added.

What the Company had to Say

In a press release, published on Yahoo Finance on July 29, Lam Research had announced its FQ4 (June quarter) results, with quarter on quarter growth in shipments at 8 percent and revenue at 6 percent, GAAP gross margins at 43.3 percent, operating margin of 12.9 percent and diluted GAAP EPS of $0.74.

According to Martin Anstice, Lam Research's President and CEO, “Lam posted record June quarter results and concluded the strongest fiscal year in our history by delivering over $5 billion in both shipments and revenue and $1 billion in operating income for the first time.” 

So, Who is Weston Twigg?

Weston Twigg is an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, and ranked #2149 out of 3741 analysts. He has a good track record with a 54 percent success rate, representing 13 out of 24 successful ratings. An investor who has opened a position since 2010 based on Analyst Twigg’s recommendation can expect average return of over 1.2 percent over a year of investment.

Weston Twigg has covered various stock in the technology domain, including <b>Teradyne, Inc.</b> TER, <b>Applied Materials, Inc.</b> AMAT, <b>Apple, Inc.</b> AAPL and <b>Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.</b> AEIS, among others.